A Banner day

Admissions office begins use of new computing system.

hey had heard talk of it since last October. They were trained, prepared and briefed on the impending changes and improvements. So it is no wonder when the University undergraduate admissions staff sat down August 2 to work in the new SCT Banner administrative computing system, they felt a bit of excitement for being the first group to work in the new campuswide system.

Members of the admissions staff huddled around a work table in the basement of Starling Hall, surrounded by a standby technical support team from Information Systems. The new computing system, the first implementation of the campuswide Program Link, meant a total overhaul in data entry processes, eventually leading to more efficient data entry and centralized University record-keeping; but the short term meant adjusting to a new process. All student records, starting with the Class of 2009, will be entered using the new system.

Associate Director of Admissions Tamara Blocker said working together as a team has been instrumental in fostering a smooth transition for her staff. She worked diligently with her staff for weeks leading up to their switch to the new system, and her team compiled their own training manual based on the first week of trial-and-error experiences.

"It's been a challenging, but very positive experience," Blocker said. "We had a positive mindset going in and have worked as a team from the beginning."

The implementation of the Banner Admissions module, the first in a series of implementations that will be complete by summer of 2006, went live August 2. The completion of the admissions component centralizes all Reynolda Campus admissions computing processes. The project required cooperation and training from staff in all admissions offices including Debbie Deheck in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences; Mimi Musumeci, Pat Peacock and Audra Esposito in the Babcock Graduate School of Management; Melanie Nutt in the School of Law; and Scott Hudgins in the Divinity School. Previously, each school depended on separate software programs to work with often-overlapping record systems. The new cross-campus computing system will improve efficiency, reduce technology administrative costs, and allow for better customer service.

Program Link had its campus kickoff last October, when it was announced that the University would be replacing its administrative computing systems. Departments across campus have been involved in training and preparation for its implementation ever since. Danny Kemp, director of software solutions, said timing of the admissions module is crucial to the completion of the entire project.

"The majority of the technical infrastructure required for Program Link was put into place for the admissions module. From a technical perspective, this first phase was a huge milestone," Kemp said.

Users of Banner SCT will experience a more intuitive graphic application screen that has already shown improvements over the former system. The admissions team working together last week found that maneuvering in the system was simpler, the search function was more comprehensive and shortcuts were easier to find. Staff members will also have more control over running various reports from student records.

"The initial getting in to the system and entering data wasn't as hard as I thought it would be," said Marilyn Jones, coordinator of process operations in admissions. "Having patience and working together really helped us."

Lea Anne Iles, project manager in Information Systems, said preparations for Program Link created cross-campus working relationships that did not exist before‹an unexpected benefit of Program Link's goal of centralizing administrative computing and data storage.

"One of the neat things about this implementation is watching the admissions teams come together and work on this when they may not have worked as collaboratively before," Iles said.

The next implementation of Program Link, the Human Resources module, is scheduled for January 2005. Updates are posted on the Program Link Web site, www.wfu.edu/link.

By Sarah Mansell

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